Flu shots-when do they start to work, when do they wear off?

Flu shots are intramuscular, given in the deltoid muscle of the arm so it would be difficult to give them lower.

Many flu clinics are giving shots already. My clinic is not starting til end of October. The antibodies take two weeks to develop and the the immunity is time limited so the later you wait the better. But it's all a guess as to when the flu will hit and how late it will last.

I just got a Tetanus shot last week because I cut the tip of my thumb off with an exacto knife, and the darn shot hurt more than the cut!

They recommend toddlers take tylenol before getting shots, but those same doctors tell me it's more for the parents to feel better about what will happen b/c the tylenol shouldn't do much esp by the time a shot starts to get sore.

I get it every year EXCEPT when I'm preggers. It's recommended, but I have more peace knowing my boy may be safer from having autism triggered. Hope I don't get sick this winter!

Tasker's Mom wrote:

The antibodies take two weeks to develope and the the immunity is time limited so the later you wait the better.

I understand about the time it takes to develop full immunity (the two weeks).

I can understand health officials wanting to get lots of people immunized earlier than would be optimal for the general public's safety over the safety of a single individual, so the "later the better" could make some sense to me...

...but I've never heard that immunity time is limited!?!?!

I thought I once heard that they prefer you to get shots every year because not only are you protected from the three strains in the current year, but because you build up immunity to many strains over the years.

So now I'm officially confused.

Well, I'll ask the Docs on Monday for clarification but it is my understanding that the immunity is good for about 6 months. I know we did receive a memo cautioning against starting to give shots too early in the season.

I'll check into it and let you know.

Our hospitals started reporting the first cases of flu last week. Sounds like it's going to be a long "runny" winter out here.....

BTW, my tylenol comment wasn't random. Just seems weird now that the thread was made into a new one

Our county already has positive cases of the flu, so the vaccine is recommended ASAP. We've been tracking flu symptoms and positives for flu for two weeks. Lots of kids out with it too.

It seems earlier than usual too.

There is also a second round of flu cases traditionally seen the end of March and all of April. That's why the CDC still talks about vaccination in January.

VerveUp wrote:

I just got a Tetanus shot last week because I cut the tip of my thumb off with an exacto knife, and the darn shot hurt more than the cut!

I got a Tetanus shot while I was in the emergency room with the shingles. I was in so much pain, I don't even remember the shot lol

VerveUp wrote:

I just got a Tetanus shot last week because I cut the tip of my thumb off with an exacto knife, and the darn shot hurt more than the cut!

OWWWWWW!!!!!

Ive done that sort of thing so often, most of my fingers have "flat" areas!

Below is information posted by the Toronto Public Health Department. It indicates that the flu vaccine DOES wear off after about 6 months.

The information on this page is currently being updated. Toronto Public Health’s flu vaccination clinics for the 2007- 2008 influenza season will open on Tuesday, October 30. Please visit this page again for details about our clinic schedule.

Why do I have to get the flu shot every year? The influenza virus changes each year, so a different vaccine has to be used each year too. The protection from the vaccine wears off after about six months so people need a new shot every year.

Doctors and scientists around the world determine the strains of influenza virus that are circulating, and the vaccine is then prepared to protect against the types that are most likely to occur each year.

The vaccine for the US, not sure what system is used in other countries, is determined by the flu cases reported in June & July at the port cities of Houston, Seattle and one other location - possibly New York though I think it is elsewhere.
They take the three most serious flus and include those in the vaccines. these are the ones most likely to put you in the hospital or kill you. There is some thought that the vacine will often overlap other strains of flu and offer a bit of protection, though I never heard of the results from any study.

From a lecture by our County Health Dept Epidemiologist two years ago

ravenmoonart wrote:

Ive done that sort of thing so often, most of my fingers have "flat" areas!

Yes, me too, good ole' artist badge of honors. I still remember my first time when I was carving a bust of Bach out of Balsa wood, in like the 5th grade, and stabbed myself in that fleshy part btw the thumb & index finger and had to get stitches.

Violet, how come you had to get the Tetanus shot? Was that for something unrelated to the shingles?

VerveUp wrote:

ravenmoonart wrote:

Ive done that sort of thing so often, most of my fingers have "flat" areas!

Yes, me too, good ole' artist badge of honors. I still remember my first time when I was carving a bust of Bach out of Balsa wood, in like the 5th grade, and stabbed myself in that fleshy part btw the thumb & index finger and had to get stitches.

Violet, how come you had to get the Tetanus shot? Was that for something unrelated to the shingles?

The dr felt the need to update my shot I guess. I was in so much pain I didn't really care. lol When I think about it that was very odd for an emergency room visit.

Actually, getting a tetanus booster while in the ER is very common. The tetanus booster should be done every 10 years.
But, if you have any exposure and it has been over 5 years, you get another one. Or if you don't know how long, and they have no record of it, you usually get another one.

The reason you need a flu shot every year is because different strains of influenza virus are prevalent each year. Vaccines are made to fight against the strains of virus that are expected to be bad in a particular year.

Also, viruses mutate (ie, change) very quickly and so the vaccine developed against a flu strain last year might not be effective this year if the virus has changed enough that your body doesn't recognize it as the virus it 'saw' in last year's vaccination.

I agree that tetanus shots are painful! Usually if you have a deep wound, they will re-vaccinate if you haven't had a booster within 5 years. Not fun, but definitely more fun than tetanus!